Discussion

Help a DC couple plan their Seattle vacation

My wife and I are traveling to Seattle in early June. I would like to start planning dinner reservations, and turn to you for help.

DC restaurants we like: Central, Proof, Komi, Montmartre. We'd be especially interested in wine bars/restaurants known for their wine, places with a young and innovative chef, sushi places, or really any restaurant that is fun, has great food, and isn't too stuffy.

I drove five hours to Vancouver just to eat at Vij's, an Indian restaurant, and it was well worth it. They don't take reservations but have the most creative Indian food anywhere around here. For a good wine bar/restaurant in Vancouver I would reccomend Bin 941 or Bin 942. They are both really popular and have great food.

For sushi in Seattle, the hotel Max has a good restaurant Red Fin. My favorite sushi restaurants in Seattle in order are Nishino, Saito's and Shiro's.

you can find lots of ideas from recent threads. I have not been to DC in many years. Here are my current faves in Seattle: Tilth, organic, local great food, quaint house, neighborhood location. Sitka and Spruce, small chalkboard menu, good use of local ingredients, very small wine list. super casual, no reservations. Harvest Vine for very Spanish tapas. Lark, small plates, more upscale. Crush, can be innovative, more formal than the others.

Others that are always good: Matt's in the Market, Palace Kitchen, Cafe Campagne, Le Pichet for brunch, lunch. You will of course receive disagreement with this off the cuff list, and I probably forgot some major ones.

Someone mentioned Canlis and its great wine selection in another post; it's a restaurant I frequently forget to recommend b/c it's been around for a while and it might be seen as somewhat stodgy, but the last time I ate there (admittedly, a couple years ago) the meal and the service were excellent.

Other faves have been mentioned: Tilth, Lark, Palace Kitchen. The chef at Qube worked for Charlie Trotter and is trying to do some innovative things.

Thanks for the heads up on the "new" chef at Qube. Tried their chef's tasting; it was competent and somewhat interesting, and an improvement over the "old" Qube, but I would probably not put it on my short list (a pity, since I loved the stuff he used to do at Azie).

I'll add Ethan Stowell's restaurants .. Union, Tavolata, How to Cook a Wolf (or is it eat!?) yikes ..anyway ..all worth trying Union the fanciest (I tend to eat in the bar) Tavolata the trendiest (well Seattle trendy anyway) and How to______ is the most laid back & newest. I'll also recommend Lark, Sitka & Spruce ... If you are renting a car it would be a nice drive out to Cafe Juanita in June. I'm a shiro's fan for sushi, though Saito's and Nishino are great too. In June the farmers markets should be great .. I think University, Ballard & Columbia City are the best. They might be fun for you to see ..if you go to Ballard, try Carta de Oaxaca or Senor Moose ...

BUT June's a long ways away .... who know what will be fabulous then! You probably don't need to book out months in advance if it's just the two of you.